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Maya Eris
Maya Eris was a Force-sensitive mercenary who lived during, prior to, and after the time of the Clone Wars. She was born on Tatooine in 39 BBY to Lynn and Noa Eris. She had one sister, Elsa. Childhood Maya was born in 39 BBY on Tatooine to two farmers, Lynn and Noa Eris. When she was two years old, her parents gave birth to another child, Elsa, who would become one of Maya's closest friends. Growing up, Maya was a quiet child, taught by her parents to keep her head down and not interfere with other people's business, but she had a natural talent with technology and piloting. Around the house, she helped her parents with their moisture farming, and helped take care of Elsa, who could be quite an annoying child sometimes, which made this a tedious task. Maya was also quite fond of the Jawas, a small, bright-eyed species native to Tatooine. She enjoyed watching them work, because just by watching she learned more about technology. Every time the Jawas gathered, Maya's parents took both Maya and Elsa to meet with the Jawas and trade for droids or pieces of machinery. As Maya grew, she began to make the short journey on her own, travelling across the dry desert, sometimes with Elsa, sometimes on her own. One droid from the Jawas, an R4 astromech model, was Maya's favorite. She had traded for him when she was nine.Though this droid had come with others, this one particularly appealed to her. He was painted green and white, scuffed by the harsh weather and sand, but he had a fiesty, happy spirit that Maya liked. She brought him home, cleaned him up as best she could, and named him R4-D5. She chose the number five because she considered the droid the fifth member of her family, but he became known simply as Arfour in her mind, and that was what she called him. Sickness When Maya was almost eleven, a sickness spread through the small village they lived in, carried by smugglers from planets far away from Tatooine. Maya and Elsa, being young, were nursed back to health quickly by the village nurses, but Noa and Lynn were not as lucky. They were confined to bed, and each day Maya and Elsa visited them and brought food and water. Lynn was the first to pass. The nurses brought the devastating news to Maya and Elsa, and Elsa cried by their mother's bed, where she lay, unmoving and unbreathing. Maya held her sister in her arms, but did not let a single tear escape, because she was worried that if Elsa saw her cry, she would give up. And then she would lose Elsa too. So, she didn't cry until she was alone that night. And then she collapsed upon the floor and weeped until she could not weep any more. Two days later, Noa died as well. And Maya and Elsa were left alone in the world with only each other to lean upon. Leaving Tatooine Almost immediately after Noa's death, Elsa announced that she wanted to leave Tatooine and never come back. Maya supported this decision, but she didn't know where to go, and they didn't have a ship. So they decided to put their few belongings into small backpacks and take Arfour with them. They sold everything else they didn't need, and eventually Maya found someone who was willing to buy a home off an eleven-year-old. It gave them enough money to buy a ride to another planet, but they didn't know where, because only those who paid beforehand got to know where they were going. They landed on a busy, bright planet crammed with people, completely different from Tatooine. It was very cold to them, coming from a desert planet. As she was handing over the credits, Maya heard someone call the place Nar Shaddaa. Maya did not know where Nar Shaddaa was, or how far from Tatooine it was, but she was glad for a change. Life on Nar Shaddaa Nar Shaddaa was a rough planet, Maya soon learned. It was filthy and polluted, and there was crime everywhere. She eventually learned that it was the largest moon of Nal Hutta, and in Hutt Space. It was a very different lifestyle than that of Tatooine, but Maya did not have enough money to get to another planet. Instead, she used what little money she had left to buy a small, cheap apartment in the worst part of town, and did her best to make it seem like home. It was damp, and much of it had mould on it. It had a disgusting smell to it, but it was all they had. So, week after week after week, Maya cleaned. And cleaned. And cleaned. And cleaned. Elsa and Arfour helped, but it still took a very long time even to make the place half-liveable. There were only a few tiny rooms, and Elsa and Maya both slept on the floor of the smallest room, on top of mouldy blankets in attempts to make it comfortable. Often, Maya found herself longing for her small, cozy room on Tatooine. But then she thought of the sickness there, and the death, and she stopped herself. She was not going back, and she knew that. She was never going back if she could help it. Eventually, the place was becoming more like home than ever. Each day, Maya worked to support herself and her sister, and came home with just enough food to satisfy them. As for Arfour, she cleaned him and did her best to keep him with his old happy, fiesty spirit. But they found happiness in the smallest of things, like a good breakfast or a few extra credits. Being Found Two years after arriving on Nar Shaddaa, Maya, Elsa and Arfour were paid a visit by a hooded stranger. He explained to them that he sensed the Force in them, and was going to take them to Coruscant to be tested to be Jedi. Maya knew about Jedi. The people who lived on Tatooine rarely talked about them, because they were so far away and never interfered with business on Tatooine, but she often overheard smugglers discussing them, and occasionally a Nar Shaddaa occupant would say something. Maya knew the stranger was a Jedi, too, because she had seen his lightsaber under his cloak. Only Jedi carried lightsabers. But she wasn't sure if she wanted to be a Jedi herself. Elsa seemed sceptical, too. But the Jedi refused to leave them in peace, telling them that they would not survive here for much longer. When Maya protested, he merely said that he was taking them, and that was the end of it. They gathered their things quickly, and said their last goodbyes to their home on Nar Shaddaa. Coruscant Coruscant was much like Nar Shaddaa in appearance. Both planets were giant cities, but Coruscant was much cleaner than Nar Shaddaa. Maya liked Coruscant more. The Jedi took them to the Jedi Temple and brought them in front of the Jedi Council. They were both tested, and both excelled in the tests, but in the end they were deemed much too old to be trained, and instead were both assigned to the Jedi Service Corps. Maya was not impressed. She didn't want to join the Service Corps. She wanted freedom, and she knew she wouldn't get freedom with either the Jedi or the Service Corps. But there wasn't much she could do currently. Leaving Coruscant Maya and Elsa served the Service Corps for three years, until Maya was sixteen, and Elsa was fourteen, the legal age of maturity in the Republic. They had decided to wait until Elsa was fourteen to leave, and that was what they did. Two days after Elsa's birthday, they waited until just after midnight and then snuck out of their dormitory and past the night guards. It was surprisingly simple and easy to get past the guards, and they did it quietly, with Arfour. Once they had snuck outside, it was easy to find a spaceport, but Maya used the few credits she had to buy a shuttle to a place she knew Elsa had always loved and wanted to visit. She didn't know what would happen there, but it was all she could do to get them off Coruscant. Arriving on Felucia They happily arrived on Felucia, where Elsa quickly picked out a small, cheap homestead that they could afford. There were not many people around, but it was not far from a farm, where Maya went almost every day to work and support her small family. It was a peaceful lifestyle, one that Elsa immensely enjoyed. She did all the housework, including cleaning Arfour and making meals, but Maya provided the money they needed to do that. They lived on Felucia peacefully for two years. The farmer Maya worked for was generous and paid his workers well, so they lived quite comfortably. At first, Maya had thought that Felucia was not the smartest place to go, because it wasn't terribly far from Coruscant, but the Republic did not seem to be missing them, so they really had nothing to worry about. Pirates Until, of course, the pirates came. They raged through the farms on Felucia, killing off the farmers and stealing their crops. They broke into Elsa and Maya's house during the night and started looking for anything valuable they could take. Maya awoke to sounds of quiet voices and hands looking through something. She silently slipped out of bed and slipped her hand around the pistol she had for safety reasons. Quietly, she snuck out of her bedroom and into Elsa's, shaking her awake and pressing a hand over her mouth to keep her from making any noises. Her sister jerked awake, and then slipped out of bed and followed Maya into the hallway. Just as she looked around the corner, there was the sound of a blaster being fired. Maya jerked back, keeping her distance, but saw, instead of a pirate, a girl about nineteen walk through the front door and raise her rifle. She shot once, twice, thrice, four times, each time hitting the pirates in their chests. They fell, one by one, dropping the things they were holding. Maya could barely make out the girl's face in the dim lighting, but saw blonde hair and tattered clothes, and when the light reflected off her face she could see dried tear tracks running down her face. She was Tris, the daughter of the farmer Maya worked for. Maya had never actually spoken to her, but she had seen her numerous times while working. She muttered to herself as she walked inside, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face, slinging her rifle across her back. She glanced inside all the rooms, perhaps looking for survivors, and Maya stepped out and introduced herself to Tris, who explained the reason for the tears on her face - her father had been killed in a struggle against the pirates. They had come in large numbers to her house, and murdered her father. Tris advised them to come with her, explaining that there might be more pirates on their way. She took Elsa and Maya to a small, almost invisible house where the survivors were tending their wounds and caring for people who had been hurt badly. Apparently there were a few scouts out, watching the pirates to see when they left. Unfortunately, this plan did not work as well as it was intended to. One of the scouts, on his way back, led a small group of pirates straight to the hideout, and most of the survivors were killed. Tris shoved Elsa behind a shelving unit just in time and was able to save some. Maya used her pistol to hurt someone for the first time, but did not feel especially guilty because of the acts the pirates had committed. The three girls emerged unscathed, and became great friends. A New Life A year after the incident with the pirates, Maya decided she was not cut out for a farmer's life on Felucia. She wanted more adventure, to experience more places. So she explained this to her sister, leaving Arfour with her, and left Felucia not long after with a tag-along - Tris, the farmer's daughter. Together they began lives as mercenaries and began looking for a crew. Tris took her father's starship, a D5 Mantis, and they began to look for crewmates for their journeys, while taking on jobs. Tris knew more about the galaxy than Maya did, and taught her how to shoot and fight, while also teaching her what she knew about planets and the people on them. Category:Humans Category:Female Characters Category:Mercenary